My friend is currently engaged and will be getting married in the Catholic Church. She said a lot of the questions catch you off guard and really make you think. Like the article stated, she felt that a lot of the questions were there so that the church could reprimand you for your behavior. For instance, they ask if you're currently living with your fiance. My friend and her fiance got an earful from the priest after answering yes to that question.
I still don't like the idea of the test.
Although I don't like the idea of this standardized test, I commend the Catholic Church in requiring all their couples to attend pre-marital counseling before getting married within the church. Regardless of religion, I believe that all couples can benefit from pre-marital counseling. The counseling tells you about the issues that may come up during a marriage (ie- financial bankruptcy, disabled/behaviorally challenged children, etc.) and how to deal with these issues appropriately. I think that it's great because many couples do not think about these things before marriage but they can happen. The counseling arms the couples with ways to deal with these issues and how they can talk through them with a spouse rather than jumping to get a divorce.
My boyfriend is Catholic but, since I'm Jewish, we won't be getting married in the Catholic Church. But, I think that before we get married, I will ask the Catholic Church if maybe we can sit in on these pre-marital counseling classes (they're group sessions). I'm hoping that since he's Catholic they might let us!
